Blood for Heaven

Step out of the darkness and seek justice: face the light of Shamash! He who presides over light and darkness, truth and wickedness! You can hear the drums, the horns and the bells calling you to the final judgment. Meet the sunrise with high heads!

At the festival of the summer solstice, warriors and beasts are sent to fight and die in front of the Ziggurat of the Zenith Sun. As the blood mix with the chalk on the ground the veiled Barû-priests leave their temple to foretell events of the coming year in the patterns formed and in the entrails of the slain. Only by this sacred ritual can the enduring prosperity of Sippar be ensured.

The PCs will be forced to take part in three ritual trials of blood. Each trial is designed to foretell things to come: it isn’t the participants that are on trial, but the enterprises and proposals that they champion with their lives. After each trial is settled, the Barû-priests make haruspices from the fallen contenders to learn the reason their cause wasn’t favored by the gods and what could be done to cheat their verdict.

Outline

Blood for Heaven is a brief scenario designed to familiarize new players with the combat system of Blood & Bronze. As the referee, you should start the scenario by describing how the adventurers step out into the searing light of the courtyard. Roll on the tables below to determine who they will be fighting, what their objective is and what special rules apply to the fight. Ask the players about their characters: how they look, what their names are and what weapons and equipment they carry. Consult the Character Compendium or page 18 in the Rules Booklet for more details on creating characters.

If you want the adventurers to face more than one trial, let each player roll on the chance event table to determine what happens to their characters between trials.

Finally, there is also a table containing brief description of twenty NPCs to help you flesh out non-combat encounters in and around the Courtyard of the Zenith Sun.

Momentum. For each previous round of movement, Hurian adds 1d4 damage die to melee attacks. If Hurian is unable to move two zones in one round, or if doing so forces him to enter the same zone twice, all momentum is lost.

13

Kassite raiders. Brought here as prisoners of war, they fight with fierce hatred of the Sippar and its god.

Momentum. For each previous round of movement, a raider adds 1d4 damage die to attacks in melee and by thrown weapons. If the raider is unable to move two zones in one round, or if doing so forces her to enter the same zone twice, all momentum is lost.

14

Great Ape. Caught in nets of hemp, sedated by lotus and brought to the arena by Sippar’s famed beast-catchers.

Fighting dogs. Short-furred and small, these dogs are bred for aggression.

Pack dogs (3d6): pwr 1 (+Vigor +Senses), save 4, end 6. Bite (dmg 1d6). The dogs will start by attacking the weakest opponent first. Only when this target is killed or when needed to defend itself will a dog change target.

18

Elamite hounds. Long-haired hounds, taller than a man when rearing.

Hounds (2d6): pwr 2 (+Vigor + Senses), save 4, end 8. Bite (dmg 1d8).

19

Hyenas. Cruel beasts with the power to crush a skull in their jaws, bred for war by Amorite nomads.

Hyena (2d4): pwr 2, save 5, end 12. Powerful bite (dmg 1d10).

20

Great lions of Sippar. Kept in the lush temple gardens and hunted for sport by princes and their well-armed retinues.

Objective of the trial

Surrender. Fighting continues until all fighters on one side are either killed, out of action or have surrendered.

5-7

Death and Defeat. Anyone reduced to 0 endurance is out. Surrendering is not accepted.

8

Captain. One character on each side is elected the captain: when she is killed or brought out of action her side loses.

9

Control. A target location is decided (1: statue, 2: ziggurat top, 3: bull gate, 4: small bridge, 5: sacred tree by ziggurat, 6: tunnel under aqueduct). The first side to control this location for three consecutive rounds (no-one from other side in zone at rounds’ end) is declared the winner.

10

Race. The first side to complete a full lap around the courtyard is declared the winner.

Special circumstances and rules

1d12

Special

1

No special rules.

2

One item. Each fighter is only allowed to bring one piece of equipment to the trial. Choose wisely.

3

Two items. Each fighter is only allowed to bring two pieces of equipment to the trial.

4

Slave collars. All fighters are equipped with slave collars, causing 1 point of damage per turn in sunlight and 2d8 if broken or removed.

5

Naked. All characters must enter the courtyard naked and unarmed. All their equipment is gathered in a pile at equal distance from all parties.

6

Multiple sides. More than two groups are fighting simultaneously. Make 1d3 additional rolls on the adversary table.

7

Gauntlet. The crowd hurls rocks at the combatants. Each round until a winner has been declared, all characters must make a Senses-save or suffer 1d4 damage.

8

Lions. Each round, 1d4-1 hungry and wounded lions are released into the arena, attacking the nearest character.

9

Sunset. The sun hangs low: mark shadows on the map. When not in shade, all characters looking west suffers a negative reroll on all actions requiring sight and precision.

10

Sunrise. The sun has just risen above the rooftops: mark shadows on the map. When not in shade, all characters looking west suffers a negative reroll on all actions requiring sight and precision.

11

Torrential rains. All surfaces become slippery: failed Vigor tests indicate falls or lost footing. On flat surface this is but a nuisance; on sloping surfaces it results in the character skidding one zone.

12

Strange constellations. All successful attacks do an additional damage die.

The Portico of the Fated

The Portico of the Fated is a wide covered walkway, bordering the courtyard of the Zenith Sun. Normally a waiting hall for plaintiffs and defendants, it is transformed into a resting place for the champions of the trials during the festival of the summer solstice. The portico is guarded at all times to keep the champions from fleeing but even more to keep kids from harassing them or kinfolk of the slain from murdering them.

Things to do in the Portico

When the PCs arrive in the Portico of the Fated after their first trial, they should get the opportunity to train and recover. In addition, each player should roll once on the chance events table (1d20) to determine what happens during the downtime. Of course, you are free to expand and elaborate on the scene if you want.

Train: wise from the first battle, the PCs may choose to hone their skills. All PCs choosing to train may replace their chosen class skill/ability with another from their class. This is a one-time offer only, devised to save new players grief over having chosen unwisely.

Recover: All PCs automatically recover to full endurance during their stay in the portico, unless a chance event dictates otherwise.

Chance events

1) Romantic entanglement. Your adventurer befriends a young (wo)man of good pedigree, but the affair is soon discovered and the angered family demands recompense. Your adventurer must choose: a costly marriage or a clan of influential enemies.

2) Bath. Thanks to an unknown sponsor, your adventurer is allowed to spend a day in Sippar’s luxurious bath-house. Your total endurance is temporarily increased by +1d4. Once this extra point of endurance is lost, it doesn’t recover.

3-4) Gambling. You while the time away gambling on the outcomes of the other trials. Roll 1D6: on a 1-3 you lose, and must forfeit one piece of equipment at random; on a 4-6 you win 2d6 x 10 shekels’ worth of silver.

5) Disease. The crowding masses, the searing sun and the ill-tended wounds causes several of the champions to suffer from fever and nausea. Your adventurer begins the next trial already lacking 1d6 endurance. However, for each human opponent in the trial there is a 50% chance that they are similarly affected.

6-7) Punished. Embittered by your attitude, the guards decide to set an example. The next trial, they withhold your right to arms. You may only choose one item to bring into the courtyard; the second they choose for you as a loaf of bread.

8) Brawl. Check Might: on a miss you start next trial bloodied (at half endurance); on a hit one of your adversaries does. If the trial is to first blood, even a single point of damage will have you (or the opponent) removed from combat.

9) Talisman. A disfigured monk awards you with a small protective talisman in return for accepting his curse as your own. If you accept, there is a 50% chance that his strange sickness will be passed to you, gradually deforming your face and features. The talisman increases its bearer’s defense rating by +2. In addition, it can be forfeit in exchange for rerolling any one armor roll.

10) Beaten and robbed. You are overwhelmed and can do nothing to prevent it. Lose a tooth and an item at random. Check senses: on a hit you identified the assailants; on a miss you only glimpsed their weapons.

11) Enamored. You fall madly in love with one of the wo/men that visits the portico. There is 50% chance that your beloved is married, and an equal chance that you are under a spell.

12) Hangover. During your next trial (or first day of adventuring), you always act last during the first round of combat. After that, the adrenaline keeps you focused until you disengage or switch targets, in which case you once again act last for the first round of combat.

13) Insulted temple official. Check guile: on a miss the enmity is irreparable; on a hit you can make amends if you donate half your wealth (including every other item carried).

14) Summoned. You are summoned to a noble’s court for a night of masked orgies. If you accept, you gain a moderately influential contact, otherwise an enemy.

15) Benefactors. Check guile: on a hit they will aid you by smuggling an item of your choice into the arena, where you can retrieve it during the next trial; on a miss they still do it, but there’s half chance that your adversaries reach it before you do.

16) Poison. You receive a small vial of poison from an unknown benefactor. If you apply it to your weapon, all hits inflict 1 point of ongoing poison damage (recovers on a 5+) but you must make sure that no-one knows, for it would be considered a terrible sin and punished in accordance.

17) Sages. Every day, sages come to chronicle the deeds and temper of each champion, creating records to accompany the clay models of their livers for the Archive of Champions. Check Lore: on a hit you learn the others weaknesses –reroll any damage dice showing 1 or 2 during the next trial; on a miss your knowledge is superficial and you may only do it once.

18) The Barû-priests. You spy on Byblos the portico-steward, as he meets with the Barû-priests to discuss the upcoming trials. Check Senses: on a hit you learn what determines the matching of champions –roll twice to determine opponents and choose the best result; on a miss you are spotted and misled – roll twice but choose the worst.

19) Favored by the crowd. The champions are constantly on display, allowing the public to garner sympathy for the brave, the beautiful or wondrous and disdain for the meek. Check Might: on a hit the crowd loves you – their cries of warning and cheers grants you a reroll during the next trial; on a miss they are divided – you gain a reroll but so does the opponents.

20) Roll twice.

Faces in the Crowd

d20

Name

Appearance

Occupation

1

Tatar

A deeply religious man with small head and brightly colored clothes

Selling fried scorpions from a small cart

2

Shimini

An androgynous youth with shaven head and a beautiful voice

Picking pockets in the crowd

3

Uhabara

A small but muscular man with a happy face

Looking for an army to join

4

Sinjana

A portly woman with spring in her steps

Dances in the palace of the Akkadian Emissary

5

Abu Bakar

A young farmer with stained clothes and beer on his breath

Selling mangoes and almonds

6

Havil

An elderly woman, carrying grandchildren on her back

Paving roads in the northern city

7

Deesha

A young woman dressed in the fine but slightly oversized clothes of a bureaucrat

Studying to become notary in the slave market

8

Chokhaya

A short woman wearing a tall turban with a golden peg on top

Selling salves and pharmaceutical ointments

9

Bilbar

An old man, dressed entirely in blue except for an orange turban that suits him poorly

Tutoring noble youth in astronomy

10

Baram

A well-dressed and finely perfumed man with ill-kept beard

Selling shoes and textiles

11

Giwan

Chebeh

A pale and slightly awkward woman, seemingly unaccustomed to crowds

A princess in disguise

12

Gandar

A leg-less boy, pulling himself forwards on a piece of wood

Betting on the outcomes of the Trials

13

Khamur

A man with exceptionally long beard, dressed in fine silk garments

Working as a granary-keeper

14

Pittus

A young man with extravagant clothes and a colorful bird on his shoulder

Part of a small ensemble of traveling actors, performing religious plays